Audio and video calling through multiple terminal devices

ABSTRACT

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a computer-readable storage medium in a media controller having computer instructions to execute a soft-phone client application on the media processor, receive a call originating from an internet protocol multimedia subsystem network where the calls are directed to the media processor by a gateway having a switch that routes the call in accordance with a destination address included in a session initiation protocol header message, and selectively answer the call at any of a plurality of terminal devices including a mobile cellular phone coupled to the media processor via a femtocell. The computer instructions can be operable to present an audio portion of the call through a speaker of a presentation device operatively coupled to the media processor. Other embodiments are disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.13/943,864, filed Jul. 17, 2013, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 12/898,214, filed Oct. 5, 2010, which areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to audio and video calling andmore specifically to an audio and video calling though multiple terminaldevices.

BACKGROUND

Existing IPTV systems have Voice over IP or VoIP and video conferencingcapabilities using computer equipment and specialized VoIP telephones.These functions are not integrated elegantly with a number of otherfunctions associated with IPTV network services such as videopresentations. Subscribers receiving calls during the presentation of amedia program may be inconvenienced and miss part of the presentation intheir attempts to answer a call or even to make a call using the IPTVcalling features. Generally, existing subscribers are making and answerphone calls using existing corded or cordless phones that may be coupledvia an RJ11 jack to a Terminal Adapter located inside a ResidentialGateway.

Femtocells allow a broadband network subscriber to essentially createtheir own cellular coverage area which can relieve wireless trafficdemands on surrounding cellular coverage areas or cellular basestations. Provisioning a femtocell on to a broadband network isgenerally deployed to improve indoor wireless coverage provided by awireless network operator. Cellular phone calls received and routed viaa femtocell can also cause an IPTV network subscriber to beinconvenienced by missing part of a video presentation at an STB whenanswering the cellular call.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1-2 depict illustrative embodiments of communication systems thatprovide media services;

FIG. 3 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a portal interacting withthe communication systems of FIGS. 1-2;

FIG. 4 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a communication deviceutilized in the communication systems of FIGS. 1-2;

FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a system;

FIG. 6 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a method operating inportions of the systems described in FIGS. 1-5; and

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the form of acomputer system within which a set of instructions, when executed, maycause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure describes, among other things, illustrativeembodiments of IPTV audio and video calling. Other embodiments arecontemplated by the present disclosure.

One embodiment of the present disclosure includes a set-top box (STB)for use in an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) network comprising acontroller to execute a soft-phone client application on the STB wherethe soft phone application is operable to establish communications witha Residential Gateway (RG) having a switching element capable ofselectively routing audio or video calls to a plurality of terminaldevices including the STB and a mobile cellular phone communicativelycoupled to the RG via a femtocell, receive incoming or initiate outgoingaudio or video calls associated with a mobile cellular serviceresponsive to the RG detecting that the mobile cellular phone hasestablished communications with the femtocell and in accordance withrouting instructions at the RG, and present a web portal to set routingpreferences for the RG for routing the incoming or outgoing audio orvideo calls associated with the mobile cellular phone.

One embodiment of the present disclosure includes a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium in a media controller having computerinstructions to execute a soft-phone client application on the mediaprocessor, and receive an audio call or a video call originating from anIP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network where the calls are directed tothe media processor by a gateway having a switching element that routesthe audio call or video call. In the one embodiment, the switchingelement can route the calls in accordance with a destination addressincluded in a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) header message. Thecomputer instructions can be operable to selectively answer one of theaudio call or the video call at any of a plurality of terminal devicesincluding at the media processor when the media processor is selectivelychosen and at a mobile cellular phone coupled to the media processor viaa femtocell when the cellular phone is selectively chosen. The computerinstructions can be operable to present an audio portion of the audiocall or of the video call through a speaker of a presentation deviceoperatively coupled to the media processor.

One embodiment of the present disclosure includes a method at a gatewayfor receiving a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) message correspondingto an audio call or a video call, determining from a called number inthe SIP message that the audio call or the video call is directed to aSet-Top Box (STB) coupled to the gateway, and receiving at least one ofaudio calls and video calls destined for the STB. The method at thegateway can also retrieve from the SIP message a calling party number,transmit to the STB a caller identification (ID) associated with thecalling party number, cause a digital switch in the gateway to route theaudio call or the video call to the STB on the basis of the callednumber in SIP message and responsive to receiving a signal from the STBindicating that the audio call or video call has been answered by theSTB, and alternatively route the audio call or the video call to any ofa plurality of terminal devices coupled to the gateway including amobile cellular phone coupled to the gateway via a femtocell when thecellular phone is selectively chosen.

FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a first communicationsystem 100 for delivering media content. The communication system 100can represent an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) media system. TheIPTV media system can include a super head-end office (SHO) 110 with atleast one super headend office server (SHS) 111 which receives mediacontent from satellite and/or terrestrial communication systems. In thepresent context, media content can represent audio content, moving imagecontent such as videos, still image content, and combinations thereof.The SHS server 111 can forward packets associated with the media contentto one or more video head-end servers (VHS) 114 via a network of videohead-end offices (VHO) 112 according to a common multicast communicationprotocol.

The VHS 114 can distribute multimedia broadcast content via an accessnetwork 118 to commercial and/or residential buildings 102 housing agateway 104 (such as a residential or commercial gateway). The accessnetwork 118 can represent a group of digital subscriber line accessmultiplexers (DSLAMs) located in a central office or a service areainterface that provide broadband services over optical links or coppertwisted pairs 119 to buildings 102. The gateway 104 can use commoncommunication technology to distribute broadcast signals to mediaprocessors 106 such as Set-Top Boxes (STBs) which in turn presentbroadcast channels to media devices 108 such as computers or televisionsets managed in some instances by a media controller 107 (such as aninfrared or RF remote control).

The gateway 104, the media processors 106, and media devices 108 canutilize tethered communication technologies (such as coaxial, powerlineor phone line wiring) or can operate over a wireless access protocolsuch as Wireless Fidelity (WiFi). By way of these interfaces, unicastcommunications can also be invoked between the media processors 106 andsubsystems of the IPTV media system for services such as video-on-demand(VoD), browsing an electronic programming guide (EPG), or otherinfrastructure services.

A satellite broadcast television system 129 can be used also in themedia system of FIG. 1. The satellite broadcast television system can beoverlaid, operably coupled with, or replace the IPTV system as anotherrepresentative embodiment of communication system 100. In thisembodiment, signals transmitted by a satellite 115 carrying mediacontent can be received by a satellite dish receiver 131 coupled to thebuilding 102. Modulated signals received by the satellite dish receiver131 can be transferred to the media processors 106 for demodulating,decoding, encoding, and/or distributing broadcast channels to the mediadevices 108. The media processors 106 can be equipped with a broadbandport to the ISP network 132 to enable interactive services such as VoDand EPG as described above.

In yet another embodiment, an analog or digital cable broadcastdistribution system such as cable TV system 133 can be overlaid,operably coupled with, or replace the IPTV system and/or the satelliteTV system as another representative embodiment of communication system100. In this embodiment, the cable TV system 133 can provide Internet,telephony, and interactive media services also.

It is contemplated that the present disclosure can apply to any presentor next generation over-the-air and/or landline media content servicessystem.

Some of the network elements of the IPTV media system can be coupled toone or more computing devices 130, a portion of which can operate as aweb server for providing portal services over an Internet ServiceProvider (ISP) network 132 to wireline media devices 108 or wirelesscommunication devices 116.

All forms of media services can be offered to media devices overlandline technologies such as those described above. Additionally, mediaservices can be offered to media devices by way of a wireless accessbase station 117 operating according to common wireless access protocolssuch as Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), or cellular communication technologies(such as GSM, CDMA, UMTS, WiMAX, Software Defined Radio or SDR, and soon).

Illustrative embodiments of methods that can operate in portions of thedevices of FIG. 1 are described below.

FIG. 2 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a communication system 200employing an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network architecture tofacilitate the combined services of circuit-switched and packet-switchedsystems. Communication system 200 can be overlaid or operably coupledwith communication system 100 as another representative embodiment ofcommunication system 100.

Communication system 200 can comprise a Home Subscriber Server (HSS)240, a tElephone NUmber Mapping (ENUM) server 230, and other commonnetwork elements of an IMS network 250. The IMS network 250 canestablish communications between IMS compliant communication devices(CD) 201, 202, Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) CDs 203, 205,and combinations thereof by way of a Media Gateway Control Function(MGCF) 220 coupled to a PSTN network 260. The MGCF 220 is not used whena communication session involves IMS CD to IMS CD communications. Anycommunication session involving at least one PSTN CD requires the use ofthe MGCF 220.

IMS CDs 201, 202 can register with the IMS network 250 by contacting aProxy Call Session Control Function (P-CSCF) which communicates with acorresponding Serving CSCF (S-CSCF) to register the CDs with at the HSS240. To initiate a communication session between CDs, an originating IMSCD 201 can submit a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP INVITE) message toan originating P-CSCF 204 which communicates with a correspondingoriginating S-CSCF 206. The originating S-CSCF 206 can submit the SIPINVITE message to an application server (AS) such as reference 217 thatcan provide a variety of services to IMS subscribers. For example, theapplication server 217 can be used to perform originating treatmentfunctions on the calling party number received by the originating S-CSCF206 in the SIP INVITE message. Originating treatment functions caninclude determining whether the calling party number has internationalcalling services, and/or is requesting special telephony features (e.g.,*72 forward calls, *73 cancel call forwarding, *67 for caller IDblocking, and so on).

Additionally, the originating S-CSCF 206 can submit queries to the ENUMsystem 230 to translate an E.164 telephone number in the SIP INVITE to aSIP Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) if the terminating communicationdevice is IMS compliant. The SIP URI can be used by an InterrogatingCSCF (I-CSCF) 207 to submit a query to the HSS 240 to identify aterminating S-CSCF 214 associated with a terminating IMS CD such asreference 202. Once identified, the I-CSCF 207 can submit the SIP INVITEto the terminating S-CSCF 214. The terminating S-CSCF 214 can thenidentify a terminating P-CSCF 216 associated with the terminating CD202. The P-CSCF 216 then signals the CD 202 to establish communications.

If the terminating communication device is instead a PSTN CD such asreferences 203 or 205, the ENUM system 230 can respond with anunsuccessful address resolution which can cause the originating S-CSCF206 to forward the call to the MGCF 220 via a Breakout Gateway ControlFunction (BGCF) 219. The MGCF 220 can then initiate the call to theterminating PSTN CD over the PSTN network 260.

The aforementioned communication process is symmetrical. Accordingly,the terms “originating” and “terminating” in FIG. 2 are interchangeable.It is further noted that communication system 200 can be adapted tosupport video conferencing. In addition, communication system 200 can beadapted to provide the IMS CDs 201 and 202 with the multimedia andInternet services of communication system 100.

Illustrative embodiments of methods that can operate in portions of thedevices of FIG. 2 are described below.

FIG. 3 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a portal 302 which canoperate from the computing devices 130 of the communication system 100illustrated in FIG. 1. The portal 302 can be used for managing servicesof communication systems 100-200. The portal 302 can be accessed by aUniform Resource Locator (URL) with a common Internet browser such asMicrosoft's Internet Explorer™ using an Internet-capable communicationdevice such as those described for FIGS. 1-2. The portal 302 can beconfigured, for example, to access a media processor 106 and servicesmanaged thereby such as a Digital Video Recorder (DVR), a VoD catalog,an EPG, or a personal catalog (such as personal videos, pictures, audiorecordings, etc.) stored in the media processor 106. The portal 302 canalso be used for provisioning IMS services described earlier,provisioning Internet services, provisioning cellular phone services,and so on.

Illustrative embodiments of methods that can operate in portions of theportal 302 of FIG. 3 are described below.

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a communication device 400.Communication device 400 can serve in whole or in part as anillustrative embodiment of the communication devices of FIGS. 1-2. Thecommunication device 400 can comprise a wireline and/or wirelesstransceiver 402 (herein transceiver 402), a user interface (UI) 404, apower supply 414, a location receiver 416, and a controller 406 formanaging operations thereof. The transceiver 402 can support short-rangeor long-range wireless access technologies such as Bluetooth, WiFi,Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT), or cellularcommunication technologies, just to mention a few. Cellular technologiescan include, for example, CDMA-1X, UMTS/HSDPA, GSM/GPRS, TDMA/EDGE,EV/DO, WiMAX, SDR, and next generation cellular wireless communicationtechnologies as they arise. The transceiver 402 can also be adapted tosupport circuit-switched wireline access technologies (such as PSTN),packet-switched wireline access technologies (such as TCPIP, VoIP,etc.), and combinations thereof.

The UI 404 can include a depressible or touch-sensitive keypad 408 witha navigation mechanism such as a roller ball, a joystick, a mouse, or anavigation disk for manipulating operations of the communication device400. The keypad 408 can be an integral part of a housing assembly of thecommunication device 400 or an independent device operably coupledthereto by a tethered wireline interface (such as a USB cable) or awireless interface supporting for example Bluetooth. The keypad 408 canrepresent a numeric dialing keypad commonly used by phones, and/or aQwerty keypad with alphanumeric keys. The UI 404 can further include adisplay 410 such as monochrome or color LCD (Liquid Crystal Display),OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) or other suitable display technologyfor conveying images to an end user of the communication device 400. Inan embodiment where the display 410 is touch-sensitive, a portion or allof the keypad 408 can be presented by way of the display 410.

The UI 404 can also include an audio system 412 that utilizes commonaudio technology for conveying low volume audio (such as audio heardonly in the proximity of a human ear) and high volume audio (such asspeakerphone for hands free operation). The audio system 412 can furtherinclude a microphone for receiving audible signals of an end user. Theaudio system 412 can also be used for voice recognition applications.The UI 404 can further include an image sensor 413 such as a chargedcoupled device (CCD) camera for capturing still or moving images.

The power supply 414 can utilize common power management technologiessuch as replaceable and rechargeable batteries, supply regulationtechnologies, and charging system technologies for supplying energy tothe components of the communication device 400 to facilitate long-rangeor short-range portable applications. The location receiver 416 canutilize common location technology such as a global positioning system(GPS) receiver for identifying a location of the communication device400 based on signals generated by a constellation of GPS satellites,thereby facilitating common location services such as navigation.

The communication device 400 can use the transceiver 402 to alsodetermine a proximity to a cellular, WiFi or Bluetooth access point bycommon sensing techniques such as utilizing a received signal strengthindicator (RSSI) and/or a signal time of arrival (TOA) or time of flight(TOF). The controller 406 can utilize computing technologies such as amicroprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and/or a videoprocessor with associated storage memory such a Flash, ROM, RAM, SRAM,DRAM or other storage technologies.

The communication device 400 can be adapted to perform the functions ofthe media processor 106, the media devices 108, or the portablecommunication devices 116 of FIG. 1, as well as the IMS CDs 201-202 andPSTN CDs 203-205 of FIG. 2. It will be appreciated that thecommunication device 400 can also represent other common devices thatcan operate in communication systems 100-200 of FIGS. 1-2 such as agaming console and a media player.

Illustrative embodiments of methods that can operate in portions of thecommunication device of FIG. 4 are described below.

FIG. 5 depicts a system 500 within a premise 501 for use in an IPTVnetwork 100 (such as shown in FIG. 1) in accordance with the claimedembodiments. The system 500 can include an STB 504 having a controller520 operable to, among other things, execute a soft-phone clientapplication on the STB 504, receive audio calls or video calls at theSTB 504 using the soft-phone client application, detect and present aCaller ID associated with an audio call or a video call, and toselectively answer the audio call or the video call. The controller 520can also be operable to receive the audio call or video call routed froma gateway (such as a Residential Gateway (RG)) 530 communicativelycoupled to the IPTV network 100 when the audio call or video call isselectively answered and present the audio call or video call through apresentation device 502 coupled to the STB 504. The gateway 530 caninclude a switching element capable of directing calls to a selectcommunication device in a premise according to a destination address in,for example, a SIP message received by the gateway 530. The switchingelement 545 can be implemented in software, hardware, or a combinationthereof.

A video call can be presented for example in a viewing area 512 of thepresentation device 502. The STB 504 can further include a terminaladaptor 525 that is integrated within the STB 504. The terminal adapter525 can serve the function of converting VoIP signals to Plain OldTelephone Service (POTS) signals commonly used by non-VoIP-capablephones. A gateway 530 which can operate in a residence or commercialestablishment can couple to the STB's internal terminal adaptor 525 viathe STB 504 since the gateway 530 communicates with the STB 504 and theSTB communicate with its internal terminal adaptor 525. The gateway canalso include its own processor or controller 540 and its own terminaladaptor 535 for coupling to analog telephone sets. The gateway 530 canalso connect to a VoIP phone 550, one or more secondary STBs 504, 580 or585 or a Femtocell 560 for enabling communications via a mobile cellularphone 575 as shown.

The femtocell 560 can be used to enable a mobile cellular phone 575 toreceive and initiate calls when cellular coverage is poor in thevicinity of premise 501. The mobile phone 575 can also communicate via awireless base station 570 outside of the premise 501 when cellularcoverage is available. Note that the gateway 530 can couple to anynumber of terminal devices such as additional STBs, computers, andtraditional POTs phone devices. STBs 504, 580 and 585 as well as VoIPphone 550 and femtocell 560 are shown as examples of such terminaldevices. The gateway 530 can also be coupled to an IPTV or IMS networkoutside the premise as well. Depending on whether the terminal device isVoIP-capable, a terminal device may or may not be necessary.

The presentation device 502 can be a television having a speaker 507that enables an audio call or an audio portion of a video call to bepresented through the speaker 507 of the television 502. The STB 504 caninclude a microphone 505 or a microphone 509 operatively coupled to theSTB 504 for transmitting audio input from the STB 504 to a calling partytelephony device or called party receiving telephony device. Themicrophone 505 can be integrated within the STB 504 and the microphone509 can be integrated within the television 502. The system 500 can alsoinclude an IP camera 506 operatively coupled to the STB 504 fortransmitting video signals or video input from the STB 504 to a callingparty telephony device or called party telephony device. Alternativelyor optionally, a camera 508 can be integrated as part of the television502 and operatively coupled to the STB 504.

The STB 504 can also include a digital video recorder (DVR) 518 or haveDVR functionality. The controller 520 can perform one or more of thefunctions among pause, record and mute of a media presentation or mediaprogram 514 for a duration of an answered call or the duration of an STBinitiated call. The controller 520 can also facilitate a voice callusing the STB 504 by presenting a virtual phone keypad 510 on a displayof the presentation device 502 and enable selections of keys using aremote control 522 of the STB 504. The controller 520 can be directed toinitiate a voice call or a video call based on a selection made from ofa call log screen or an electronic phonebook 516. The controller 520 canalso initiate a video call by using SIP Options messages for servicediscovery to determine if an endpoint calling device is available toreceive the video call.

The present disclosure contemplates a STB 504 and a gateway (530 or 104of FIG. 1) that among other things facilitates audio and video calls viaan IPTV network using soft phone client software in the STB 504 capableof optionally pausing, recording or muting an ongoing media presentationor program according to the illustrative embodiments of method 600 ofFIG. 6. By combining DVR functions with the audio and video callfunctions, a subscriber can conveniently and unobtrusively manage phoneand video calls by pausing or muting or allowing background recording ofa presentation for the duration of a call.

In one embodiment, the incoming calls can be processed programmatically.For example, the controller in the STB or DVR is operable to cause theDVR to automatically pause, record or mute a media presentationresponsive to answering the audio or video call based on an incomingcaller identifier and the assigned affiliation of the incoming calleridentifier to a preset group. For instance, if a caller identifier is ona “preferred mute” list the DVR causes muting, or if the calleridentifier belongs to a “preferred pause” list the DVR generates apause, and if a caller identifier belongs to a “preferred record” list,then the DVR records the media presentation.

The soft-phone client along with the femtocell 560 increases the numberof available telephone numbers that may be used at the STB 504 (or atother terminal devices 580, 585, 550 and 575 coupled to the gateway 530)by integrating wireless carrier services used by the mobile cellularphone 575 and multiple VoIP numbers. The embodiments herein allow usersto place or receive (originate or terminate) voice and/or videotelephone calls on the STB 504 using any of the wireless subscribernumbers or broadband VoIP subscriber numbers. Thus, multiple VoIP andwireless phones numbers can be registered with the gateway 530 to allowincoming and outgoing calls through the various terminal devices coupledto the gateway 530. In one example, when a call is received via asubscriber's wireless phone line and the wireless phone is within rangeof their femtocell, if the subscriber has configured calls to route tothe STB, then the Caller ID data can be displayed on the subscriber'stelevision set 502. The user can answer the call via their soft-phoneclient application in the STB 504.

When a call is received from any one of the multiple VoIP telephonenumbers or station identifiers (504, 550, 580, 585, 575), the subscriberuser can answer the call from the STB 504 if so desired. The subscribercan also select a telephone number to use for outgoing calls from a listof telephone numbers that are registered with the gateway 530. Thus, acall from the STB 504 can make an outgoing call using a phone numberthat is associated with terminal devices 504, 575, 550, 580 or 585 forexample even though the outgoing call is made from STB 504.

FIG. 6 depicts an illustrative method 600 that operates in portions ofthe devices of FIGS. 1-5. Method 600 can begin at 602 in which a softphone client application (hereinafter “softphone”) is executed in theSTB 504. At 604 the STB 504 by way of softphone can establishcommunications with a gateway having a switching element capable ofselectively routing audio or video calls to a plurality of terminaldevices including the STB 504 and a mobile cellular phonecommunicatively coupled to the gateway via a femtocell 560. At 606, themethod can receive incoming or initiate outgoing audio or video callsassociated with the mobile cellular service responsive to the gateway orRG detecting that the mobile cellular phone has establishedcommunications with the femtocell and in accordance with routinginstructions at the gateway or RG. The softphone can then present a webportal enabling the setting of routing preferences for the gateway or RGat 608 for routing the incoming or outgoing audio or video callsassociated with the mobile cellular phone. At 610, the gateway or RG canbe operable to receive a notice from the femtocell when the mobilecellular phone establishes communications with the femtocell and at 612the gateway or RG can transmit to the STB in accordance with routinginstructions at the gateway and responsive to receiving the notice. Notethat the RG is operable to route incoming audio or video callsassociated with the mobile cellular phone to at least one of the STB,the mobile phone, and the plurality of terminal devices according to therouting instructions at the gateway.

At 614, the gateway can be operable to receive from the mobile cellularphone an outgoing audio or video call via the femtocell, wherein theoutgoing audio or video call is directed to a called device. At 616, thegateway can route the outgoing audio or video call to a landlinecommunication system instead of a cellular system according to therouting preferences supplied at the web portal. The landlinecommunication system can correspond to one of an Internet ProtocolMultimedia Subsystem (IMS) network, a Voice over Internet Protocol(VoIP) network, or a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) forexample. In one embodiment, the landline communication system canpresent at the called device a caller identification (ID) different froma caller ID of the mobile cellular phone. The STB can instruct thegateway or RG to use a Caller ID associated with any number of terminaldevices registered with the gateway or RG when making outgoing callsfrom any of the terminal devices, not just the mobile cellular phone.The plurality of terminal devices registered with the RG can comprisefor example, the STB, a secondary STB, and a Voice-over-InternetProtocol (VoIP) phone, and where the switching element of the RG iscapable of directing calls to each of the terminal devices in responseto the routing preferences entered at web portal at communicated to thegateway or RG. In one embodiment, the web portal can provide the RG withrouting preferences to direct calls to each of the terminal devicesaccording to a destination address in a Session Initiation Protocol(SIP) header message.

The softphone can be operable at 618 to selectively answer an incomingaudio call or video call routed to the STB 504 by the gateway 530according to the routing instructions where the incoming audio call orvideo call is directed to the mobile cellular phone. At 620, the audiocall or the video call routed from the RG is received and at 622 theaudio call or video call is presented through a presentation devicecoupled to the STB. Of course, the call can be presented at any numberof terminal devices registered with the RG. In one embodiment, the STBcomprises an integrated terminal adaptor for converting VoIP signals toPlain Old Telephone Service (POTS) signals, and wherein the controlleris operable to cause the soft-phone to process digital samples of thePOTS signals. The STB can also comprise a digital video recorder (DVR)where the controller is operable to cause the DVR to pause, record ormute a media presentation responsive to answering the audio or videocall, or when a call is initiated by the STB. The presentation devicecan be a television having an integrated microphone and an integratedcamera that also transmits audio and video signals to a calling partydevice or called party device.

At 624, the softphone can detect the incoming audio call or video calloriginating from an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) networkand routed through the IPTV network. At 626, the controller can beoperable to initiate an audio or a video call by transmitting a SIPINVITE message to the IMS network capable of directing the audio orvideo call to a terminal device that is IMS compliant or that supports apublic switched telephone network (PSTN) protocol.

Upon reviewing the aforementioned embodiments, it would be evident to anartisan with ordinary skill in the art that said embodiments can bemodified, reduced, or enhanced without departing from the scope andspirit of the claims described below. For example, when a caller IDmessage is displayed on the TV, the user can have option to answer thecall or discard the alert message from the TV screen (where a defaultoption can exit the caller ID message in 2 seconds or otherpredetermined time if the user does not press anything). If the userselects the option to answer the call, then the Residential Gateway (RG)will route the call to the STB (with the STB running the soft phoneclient) and the STB will answer the call (with an SIP 200 OK messagesent from the STB via the RG) and the phone will stop ringing (SIP180/183 ringing).

Also note that the embodiments can make voice calls in several ways. Inone instance, a pop-up phone keypad can be presented on the screenallowing the user to dial out. In another embodiment, the user can haveaccess to various call logs or phonebooks on-screen and click on thename or phone number of the party to call. In any case, the call will bemade via the STB (voice via TV speakers and STB microphone) routedthrough the RG which would have VOIP service for example.

In yet other embodiments, the switching element in the RG canselectively route one of outgoing calls originated from the STB throughthe mobile cellular service using a caller identifier of the mobilecellular phone, or outgoing calls originated from the VoIP phone throughthe mobile cellular service using a caller identifier of the mobilecellular service, or outgoing calls originated from the mobile cellularphone using a VoIP service using a caller identifier of the VoIPservice. Even though mobile cellular phone can be connected to the RGvia the femtocell, the cellular phone service does not necessarily getpooled with other terminal devices having subscriber services. Forexample, the mobile cellular phone pools its subscriber services withthe plurality of terminal devices only when the subscription forcellular service and the subscription for IMS network or IPTV servicesshare a common subscriber and/or when the gateway is configured to allowpooling of services.

In making a video call from one similarly set up system to another, SIPOptions messages for service discovery can be used to see if another endpoint is also available and compatible for a video call. This can bedone using ENUM located in the IMS core. If service discovery returnsOK, then the user is allowed to make the video call via the STB and thecalled party will get a caller ID message on his/her STB. The calledparty can have one of the option to answer the video call, make it aaudio call only, or to discard the call. When the called party selectsto answer the call, if they have DVR capability the STB can pause,record or mute the TV show or other presentation being watched. It isfurther noted that the concepts of the video call can be furtherextended to allow a subscriber to make a video call from the STB 504 toother mobile devices using a wireless carrier.

Other suitable modifications can be applied to the present disclosurewithout departing from the scope of the claims below. Accordingly, thereader is directed to the claims section for a fuller understanding ofthe breadth and scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary diagrammatic representation of a machine inthe form of a computer system 700 within which a set of instructions,when executed, may cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed above. The machine can operate, for example, asthe STB or media controller 504, the gateway 104 or combinations thereofas described above. In some embodiments, the machine operates as astandalone device. In some embodiments, the machine may be connected(e.g., using a network) to other machines. In a networked deployment,the machine may operate in the capacity of a server or a client usermachine in server-client user network environment, or as a peer machinein a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment.

The machine may comprise a server computer, a client user computer, apersonal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a laptop computer, a desktopcomputer, a control system, a network router, switch or bridge, or anymachine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential orotherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. It will beunderstood that a device of the present disclosure includes broadly anyelectronic device that provides voice, video or data communication.Further, while a single machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shallalso be taken to include any collection of machines that individually orjointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform anyone or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

The computer system 700 may include a processor 702 (e.g., a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU, or both), a mainmemory 704 and a static memory 706, which communicate with each othervia a bus 708. The computer system 700 may further include a videodisplay unit 710 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), a flat panel, asolid state display, or a cathode ray tube (CRT)). The computer system700 may include an input device 712 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor controldevice 714 (e.g., a mouse), a disk drive unit 716, a signal generationdevice 718 (e.g., a speaker or remote control) and a network interfacedevice 720.

The disk drive unit 716 may include a machine-readable medium 722 onwhich is stored one or more sets of instructions (e.g., software 724)embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions describedherein, including those methods illustrated above. The instructions 724may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the mainmemory 704, the static memory 706, and/or within the processor 702during execution thereof by the computer system 700. The main memory 704and the processor 702 also may constitute machine-readable media.

Dedicated hardware implementations including, but not limited to,application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays andother hardware devices can likewise be constructed to implement themethods described herein. Applications that may include the apparatusand systems of various embodiments broadly include a variety ofelectronic and computer systems. Some embodiments implement functions intwo or more specific interconnected hardware modules or devices withrelated control and data signals communicated between and through themodules, or as portions of an application-specific integrated circuit.Thus, the example system is applicable to software, firmware, andhardware implementations.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, themethods described herein are intended for operation as software programsrunning on a computer processor. Furthermore, software implementationscan include, but not limited to, distributed processing orcomponent/object distributed processing, parallel processing, or virtualmachine processing can also be constructed to implement the methodsdescribed herein.

The present disclosure contemplates a machine readable medium containinginstructions 724, or that which receives and executes instructions 724from a propagated signal so that a device connected to a networkenvironment 726 can send or receive voice, video or data, and tocommunicate over the network 726 using the instructions 724. Theinstructions 724 may further be transmitted or received over a network726 via the network interface device 720.

While the machine-readable medium 722 is shown in an example embodimentto be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” should betaken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralizedor distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) thatstore the one or more sets of instructions. The term “machine-readablemedium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by themachine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies of the present disclosure.

The term “machine-readable medium” shall accordingly be taken toinclude, but not be limited to: solid-state memories such as a memorycard or other package that houses one or more read-only (non-volatile)memories, random access memories, or other re-writable (volatile)memories; and magneto-optical or optical medium such as a disk or tape.Accordingly, the disclosure is considered to include any one or more ofa machine-readable medium or a distribution medium, as listed herein andincluding art-recognized equivalents and successor media, in which thesoftware implementations herein are stored.

Although the present specification describes components and functionsimplemented in the embodiments with reference to particular standardsand protocols, the disclosure is not limited to such standards andprotocols. Each of the standards for Internet and other packet switchednetwork transmission (e.g., TCP/IP, UDP/IP, HTML, HTTP) representexamples of the state of the art. Such standards are periodicallysuperseded by faster or more efficient equivalents having essentiallythe same functions. Accordingly, replacement standards and protocolshaving the same functions are considered equivalents.

The illustrations of embodiments described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the structure of various embodiments,and they are not intended to serve as a complete description of all theelements and features of apparatus and systems that might make use ofthe structures described herein. Many other embodiments will be apparentto those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. Otherembodiments may be utilized and derived therefrom, such that structuraland logical substitutions and changes may be made without departing fromthe scope of this disclosure. Figures are also merely representationaland may not be drawn to scale. Certain proportions thereof may beexaggerated, while others may be minimized. Accordingly, thespecification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative ratherthan a restrictive sense.

Such embodiments of the inventive subject matter may be referred toherein, individually and/or collectively, by the term “invention” merelyfor convenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope ofthis application to any single invention or inventive concept if morethan one is in fact disclosed. Thus, although specific embodiments havebeen illustrated and described herein, it should be appreciated that anyarrangement calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substitutedfor the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to coverany and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in theart upon reviewing the above description.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided with the understanding thatit will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of theclaims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can beseen that various features are grouped together in a single embodimentfor the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method ofdisclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that theclaimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited ineach claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subjectmatter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment.Thus the following claims are hereby incorporated into the DetailedDescription, with each claim standing on its own as a separately claimedsubject matter.

What is claimed is:
 1. A media processor comprising: a processing systemincluding a processor; and a memory that stores executable instructionsthat, when executed by the processing system, facilitates performance ofoperations comprising: initiating communications with a gateway device,wherein the gateway device selectively routes incoming calls to terminaldevices including the media processor and a mobile cellular phonecoupled to the gateway device via a femtocell; receiving a notice fromthe femtocell responsive to the mobile cellular phone initiatingcommunications with the femtocell; and receiving incoming calls orinitiating outgoing calls associated with a mobile cellular service usedby the mobile cellular phone, responsive to the gateway device detectingthat the mobile cellular phone has initiated communications with thefemtocell and in accordance with routing instructions at the gatewaydevice, wherein the femtocell provides a plurality of bundled wirelesscarrier services associated with a plurality of wireless telephonenumbers, thereby increasing a number of available wireless telephonenumbers for a plurality of mobile cellular phones to enable thereceiving and initiating of calls at the media processor using any ofthe plurality of wireless telephone numbers.
 2. The media processor ofclaim 1, wherein an incoming call comprises an incoming audio call or anincoming video call, and wherein an outgoing call comprises an outgoingaudio call or an outgoing video call.
 3. The media processor of claim 1,wherein an incoming call is routed by a switching element in the gatewaydevice according to a destination address in a session initiationprotocol message received by the gateway device.
 4. The media processorof claim 3, wherein the operations further comprise providing thegateway device with routing preferences to direct calls to each of theterminal devices according to the destination address.
 5. The mediaprocessor of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise presentinga web portal enabling setting of routing preferences for the gatewaydevice for routing an incoming call or for routing an outgoing callassociated with the mobile cellular phone.
 6. The media processor ofclaim 1, wherein the operations further comprise: selectively answeringan incoming call routed to the media processor by the gateway deviceaccording to the routing instructions, wherein the incoming call isdirected to the mobile cellular service; receiving the incoming callrouted from the gateway device; and presenting the incoming call througha presentation device coupled to the media processor.
 7. The mediaprocessor of claim 1, wherein the femtocell provides a plurality ofphone numbers to enable the receiving and initiating of calls at themedia processor using any of the plurality of phone numbers.
 8. Themedia processor of claim 1, further comprising a digital video recorder,and wherein the operations further comprise causing the digital videorecorder to pause, record or mute a media presentation responsive toanswering an incoming call or initiating an outgoing call.
 9. The mediaprocessor of claim 8 wherein, responsive to answering the incoming call,the media presentation is paused, recorded or muted based on an incomingcaller identifier, wherein a caller identifier on a preferred mute listcauses muting, a caller identifier on a preferred pause list causes apause, and a caller identifier on a preferred record list causesrecording of the media presentation.
 10. A method comprising:facilitating, by a processing system including a processor,communications by a femtocell with a gateway device, wherein the gatewaydevice selectively routes incoming calls to terminal devices including amedia processor and a mobile cellular phone coupled to the gatewaydevice via the femtocell; transmitting, by the processing system, anotice responsive to the mobile cellular phone facilitatingcommunications with the femtocell; enabling, by the processing system,the mobile cellular phone to receive incoming calls or initiate outgoingcalls associated with a mobile cellular service used by the mobilecellular phone, in accordance with routing instructions at the gatewaydevice; and providing, by the processing system via the femtocell, aplurality of bundled wireless carrier services associated with aplurality of wireless telephone numbers, thereby increasing a number ofavailable wireless telephone numbers for a plurality of mobile cellularphones to enable the receiving and initiating at the media processorusing any of the plurality of wireless telephone numbers.
 11. The methodof claim 10, wherein the enabling is performed responsive to the gatewaydevice detecting that the mobile cellular phone has establishedcommunications with the femtocell.
 12. The method of claim 10, whereinan incoming call comprises an incoming audio call or an incoming videocall, and wherein an outgoing call comprises an outgoing audio call oran outgoing video call.
 13. The method of claim 10, wherein incomingcalls or outgoing calls are routed in accordance with routingpreferences supplied via a web portal presented by a soft-phone clientexecuting on the media processor.
 14. The method of claim 10, whereinthe media processor selectively answers an incoming call routed to themedia processor according to the routing instructions, wherein theincoming call is directed to the mobile cellular service, and whereinthe media processor presents the incoming call through a presentationdevice coupled to the media processor.
 15. The method of claim 10,wherein the gateway device receives a session initiation protocolmessage corresponding to an incoming call and comprising a callednumber, and wherein the incoming call is selectively routed according tothe called number retrieved from the session initiation protocolmessage.
 16. The method of claim 10, wherein the enabling is performedat a location having reduced cellular coverage.
 17. A non-transitorymachine-readable storage medium, comprising executable instructionsthat, when executed by a processing system including a processor,facilitate performance of operations comprising: initiatingcommunications with a gateway device, wherein the gateway deviceselectively routes incoming calls to terminal devices and to a mobilecellular phone coupled to the gateway device via a femtocell; receivinga notice from the femtocell responsive to the mobile cellular phoneinitiating communications with the femtocell; and receiving incomingcalls or initiating outgoing calls associated with a mobile cellularservice used by the mobile cellular phone, responsive to the gatewaydevice detecting that the mobile cellular phone has initiatedcommunications with the femtocell and in accordance with routinginstructions at the gateway device, wherein the femtocell provides aplurality of bundled wireless carrier services associated with aplurality of wireless telephone numbers, thereby increasing a number ofavailable wireless telephone numbers for a plurality of mobile cellularphones to enable the receiving and initiating of calls using any of theplurality of wireless telephone numbers.
 18. The non-transitorymachine-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein an incoming callcomprises an incoming audio call or an incoming video call, and whereinan outgoing call comprises an outgoing audio call or an outgoing videocall.
 19. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim17, wherein an incoming call is routed by a switching element in thegateway device according to a destination address in a sessioninitiation protocol message received by the gateway device.
 20. Thenon-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 17, whereinincoming calls or outgoing calls are routed in accordance with routingpreferences supplied via a web portal presented by a soft-phone clientexecuting on a media processor.